Losing Control
by serpentguy
Summary: There had been a time when Eren vowed to destroy all Titans, but then he had to fight Annie in Stohess District and, for the first time, he hesitated. He never knew it, but Annie hesitated too. What might have happened if they had both lost control just a bit more?
1. Sanity is Overrated

**Losing Control**

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 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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 **Also, there will be some spoilers from later chapters of the manga in this story. Nothing specific, but be warned.**

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 **Chapter 1:**

 **Sanity is Overrated**

* * *

The fist collided with enough power to shatter concrete. There had been meteor strikes with less force behind them. The shockwave was enough to split every pane of glass in a hundred feet. In an instant, hundreds of tonnes of bone and muscle collided with monstrous force against the Female Titan's jaw, sending her huge body flying backwards in to the air.

Bones crunched, and muscle shredded from the recoil. Within seconds, the Titan's flesh was already regenerating the damage.

The fourteen metre tall Titan crashed downwards and the whole city shook. She collided straight through a nearby temple, crushing through stone and pulverising the occupants. Weak human bodies splattered into bloody stains. As far as the wall worshippers were concerned, their lives had just been devastated in a single moment, and so many had died in a bloody hail of debris.

As far as the two Titans were concerned, the humans might as well have been ants skirting around their feet.

Eren could barely think straight over the rage and fury pounding through his body. Being in the body of a Titan was like trying to steer a meteorite caught in a tornado. The primal rage just consumed everything. All Eren could feel was pure anger as he stared at his enemy; the Female Titan.

 _Annie_ , Eren thought weakly. _This Titan was actually Annie_. Still, the time for doubt had passed. Eren had transformed for a singular reason; to finally defeat his opponent. No more hesitation.

The Rogue Titan bellowed in challenge, and the Female Titan answered.

They collided, and the earth quaked.

* * *

Mikasa felt the vibrations drag her out of unconsciousness. Her head was spinning, but the sound of complete destruction was unmistakable. Her whole body ached but her teeth gritted as she pulled herself off the ground.

The street around her had been completely devastated. Buildings had turned into rubble, and huge footsteps were pounded into the ground. Still, Mikasa watched as the dust on the ground bounced from the shockwaves across the city.

Her normally dexterous fingers fumbled with the latch on her 3D gear. "Eren…" Mikasa mumbled, still reeling from concussion as she staggered forward, trying to focus. Billows of smoke writhed in the sky across the city, and the smell of burning flesh was pungent.

Through pure determination, Mikasa fired a wire onto the rooftops, and then the gas propulsion kicked in and she was sent soaring upwards. She landed onto the tiled roof with cat-like grace, and her hands were on her blades as she clambered upwards to survey the damage.

Stohess District was being destroyed. People might have been screaming, but it was hard to hear anything over the sound of the two Titans clashing, tearing through the buildings like wrecking balls. Every time they clashed, the impact caused the ground to shudder. Mikasa's hands clenched around the handle of her blades, while around her the roof tiles crashed to the ground.

"Eren!" She shouted, but there was no way he could ever hear her. Annie wasn't even trying to run away anymore, she was too busy wrestling against Eren, and Eren gave every bit as good as he got. The battle was so ferocious and unpredictable that no human could get close.

Mikasa recognised the fire in Eren's Titan form eyes, she had seen it before. It was a sight that made her stomach churn. _Eren was losing control_.

* * *

The rage was overpowering. Titans didn't bleed like humans; but instead they just had pure fire running through their veins. Eren could feel that fire now, writhing through his body like an inferno, pushing him forward into new heights of fury.

A fist like a bulldozer pounded forward, but Annie caught the blow on her elbow, her skin hardening into crystal and Eren's hand crumpled. She lashed out with a kick, colliding firmly against Eren's chest. Her foot nearly punched a hole through his chest, but Eren didn't care. He powered forward, taking Annie by surprise as he dragged her to the ground.

Her normally composed, expert stance was gone. Instead, they were just two massive bodies thrashing together on the ground. Eren's body worked on autopilot, feeling the desire, the need, and the lust, to destroy Titans consume all rational thought.

 _Kill them_ , Eren growled, _kill them all!_

His hands tore into the Female Titan's face, his fingers gouging through skin. She roared, twisting around and slamming her elbow into his skull. The Rogue Titan's neck cracked, but a second later it had recovered and he was head-butting her straight into the ground, pushing her down as he clawed over her.

Their limbs thrashed and struggled, bodies slamming together furious, while the steam between them reached superheated temperatures. It was hot enough to scour the pavement clean. The Rogue Titan's eyes burnt inferno blue as they crashed.

She tried to grab him around into a headlock, but the Rogue Titan pressed forward into her, twisting her around into the ground and rolling through another building. He roared, slamming his head into her chest, and then his teeth were tearing through flesh as he bit straight into her shoulder. The Female Titan screamed in pain, thrusting her knee into his stomach. The force nearly buckled his spine, but he kept a hold of her as he clawed and scratched at her skin.

Around them, what used to be a street had been transformed into a crater of destruction. The buildings had been pulverised, while it was hot that the wood and debris caught light like a huge bonfire. The two Titans were left crashing together as the flames roared around them, burning away their skin.

The Female Titan looked absolutely feral. Her skin was peeling off her body, revealing muscles and ligaments that were constantly healing faster than they could be shredded. Even vein was throbbing while the superheated steam sweated between them. Her hair was a mess, unkempt and torched, her nose was broken and twisted, and her inhumanly wide mouth was agape, revealing monstrously sharp teeth as her cheeks split open.

Somehow, despite everything, Eren could still see the similarity with Annie.

 _Annie_ … Eren thought weakly, feeling the Titan rage consume him. _You always looked like you considered those around you hopeless idiots… you always seemed bored_ …

Eren stared at her, and he saw the same fury in his eyes mirrored in hers. She roared furiously.

… _But you're not bored anymore, are you?_

* * *

"What's happening here?" Erwin demanded, approaching the flimsy barricade surrounding the conflict.

Technically, Erwin was still under the Military Police arrest, but it was hard for anyone to see that. The Military Police, supposedly the elite of the elite, were running around scared like frightened little children. The Survey Corps took control because they were only ones that could.

"It's difficult, sir!" Hanje shouted loudly. Hanje was in charge of the operation, although in a chaos like this it was hard to really be in charge of anything. "Eren has lost control! We can't get close!"

Erwin nodded. The battle had changed. It wasn't widespread destruction anymore, now the two Titans were more or less confined in what used to be city block, but between the fire and the fighting none of the soldiers could get near. There was a hundred metre area that had been completely consumed in chaos, in which only a Titan could survive.

Instead, the Survey corps was left scattered around the outside, waiting tensely for their opportunity to get the Female Titan. Erwin's brow furrowed as he quickly took stock of the situation. Sooner or later the Military Police will recover and get organised. _The longer Eren keeps the Female Titan busy_ , Erwin decided; _then the better our response will be and the less likely it becomes that the Female Titan escapes. So long as Eren is keeping the Female Titan distracted, then, no matter outcome of their fight, we need to be ready._

It also meant more fatalities, but that wasn't Erwin's concern. Priorities were important. He had always known that there would likely be deaths when they had started the operation, yet that was secondary. People dying didn't make a difference in the long run. Erwin's top priority had always been the war for humanity, and right now that meant capturing and interrogating the Female Titan.

Around them, the fire threatened to spread to the nearby buildings. There must be a gas leak somewhere. Erwin hesitated, before turning to his Military Police escort.

"Corporal!" Erwin snapped, loudly to be heard over the crackling flames. "Gather the men and whatever citizens can help! We need a firefighting response this instant!"

The corporal's face was pale and frantic. "But I was ordered to keep you under custody–!" He stammered.

"People are dying, corporal!" Erwin shouted in his best officer's voice. "Do you want the fire to go out of control and this whole city to burn down!?"

The man's eyes widened, but he nodded, motioned to his men and ran away. When people were scared, Erwin had found, they were would always follow the instructions of whoever seemed to be in charge, even if that person was meant to be their prisoner.

Not that Erwin particularly cared about the civilian causalities. Instead, he needed the fire contained otherwise it would interfere with his military operation. As the Military Police moved away from him, Erwin casually slipped his hands out of his cuffs. Levi stood by his side, impassive as ever as he awaited the commander's orders.

"Hanje!" Erwin ordered. "You need reinforcements on the west side, in case she tries slip away in that direction!" Without pause, the squad leader nodded and sent two men across to the west. Erwin turned to Levi. "I need you to coordinate with the Military Police," Erwin instructed. "Get a team organised. As soon as you've got a chance, I want you to pursue the Female Titan and cut her down."

Levi nodded. His leg was broken, but he was still the most capable soldier humanity had. "Very well. And what about you?"

"I need to see how long it would take to get those cannons turned in the opposite direction," Erwin explained, pointing towards the weapons on top Wall Sina. If all else failed, they would need the cannons to take the Female Titan down. Erwin had always been an 'if all else failed' type of guy.

Without another word, Levi walked away, barely even limping despite his injury. He paused to take the 3D Manoeuvre Gear off a Military Police soldier that didn't even look capable of fastening the straps up properly. Erwin cast a dark look around the situation. At this distance, all he could see from the Titans fighting were shadows writhing in the smoke, but the shockwaves were unmistakable.

A flailing leg kicked through a house, sending debris flying everywhere. Erwin didn't even flinch as the stones and dust scattered across the street.

"What's going on?" A Survey Corps member exclaimed loudly, looking around in panic. Erwin recognised one of the 104th Trainee Squad, Armin Arlert. _He has proven himself a reliable strategist_ , the commander remembered. "What's Annie doing?"

Erwin glanced at him in question. Armin gulped, and turned to his commander. "Annie isn't this stupid, sir," Armin explained. "She has absolutely no reason to be continuing fight with Eren. She knows that the odds of her escaping are decreasing with every minute. Still, she's not even trying to run away."

"So then she's still hoping to capture Eren," Erwin noted.

"That's not going to happen," Armin argued, motioning to the flaming pandemonium. "Not like this. She's more likely to kill him than take him alive in this fight! She's got absolutely nothing to gain here!"

Erwin frowned. From the nearby rooftops, Levi watched over the scene and then sighed, covering his mouth from the smoke. "Oh dear," Levi exclaimed loudly, in his typical drawl voice.

"What's wrong?" Erwin asked sharply.

"Do you know how Eren has lost control and went wild?" Levi asked simply, folding his arms as he stared at the fight. "…Well, apparently Annie has too."

* * *

The Rogue Titan roared as the Female Titan slammed him to the ground, and reinforced fists pounded into his skull. His jaw cracked. His skull caved, but the Rogue Titan still slammed upwards, gouging out her eyes as he sent her hurtling to the ground.

Eren and Annie had nothing to do with the fight anymore. The Titans were in control now.

In the nape of the neck, Eren could feel his skin slowly starting to fuse with the Titan flesh. He couldn't tell which body was really his anymore. It was like the rage was burning away everything that he was.

He could still see the battle through the Titan's eyes, but it was like he was looking out of a window, watching someone else. Everything felt so intense but also distant as their bodies crashed together.

The Rogue Titan slammed into her, knee crushing into her chest, but her hands clutched his shoulders and clawed him to the ground. He twisted, but then the Female Titan crushed into his body, and suddenly her teeth were ripping chunks of flesh out of his chest.

The Rogue Titan roared, yanking her head backwards and then biting down firmly in to the front of her neck, so tightly he almost bit her head off. As the Rogue Titan tore her jugular open, Eren could taste her flesh in his own mouth.

 _Annie…!_ He thought suddenly, and it was like waking up again. Eren thrashed, fighting for control against the pure rage of the Rogue Titan. Everything was so hot it felt like his skin was bubbling around him.

His Titan hands kept tight a hold of her skull, so firmly that his fingers broke through the skin as he squeezed the life out of her. Her skull cracked as his hands pushed in harder, while her whole body thrashed for release.

With a sudden shock, Eren realised that his Titan form was about to rip her apart and eat her. The realisation sent tremors down his spine.

 _Annie!_ Eren roared mentally, thrashing for control madly. The image of the aloof blonde ricocheted through his head. _No, stop! Annie!_

… _ **ANNIE**_ _!…_

* * *

…

… _and the world changed._

 _Suddenly, Eren was standing back in the old 104_ _th_ _squad training ground, staring around the empty field. It was midday, but the place was deserted everything felt so quiet._

" _It feels good, doesn't it?" A voice asked from behind. Eren turned, only to see the figure walking up slowly towards him. Annie was wearing her old Training Corps uniform; brown jacket and white hoodie. "Too_ really _lose control like that?"_

 _There was a pause. Eren was a good fifteen centimetres taller than her, but she had always walked with a slightly slouched posture. Her skin was very pale, blonde hair drawn back in a bun, with a pronounced nose and bored expression. Still, her eyes flickered with interest._

 _Eren glared at her. "How could you do it, Annie?" He said harshly. "How could you kill all those people?"_

" _Meh." Annie shrugged. "You've killed plenty of Titans trying to achieve your goal," she said simply._

" _Those were Titans, not people!" Eren snapped._

 _Annie smiled; a sad, soft, little smile. "Were they now?"_

 _Eren took a deep breath. Around him, the training field was deathly quiet. Eren must have spent hours here, getting his ass kicked repeatedly by Annie. There had been a time when he had dreamt about being good at fighting as she was. He knew he was hallucinating or dreaming now, but the training ground just seemed so serene compared to the battle in the real world._

" _You tried to capture me," Eren demanded after a pause. "Why?!"_

 _She sighed. "It was just a mission, nothing more," she said defensively. Every instinct Eren had screamed that she was lying. "We've all got orders to follow."_

" _And you think those orders are worth killing so many people?!" Eren shouted, fists clenching._

" _I guess I do," she said quietly, staring at him with wide blue eyes. "I guess we're all just whatever our fathers made us."_

Fathers _. Eren bristled, staring at her with shock. "Your father?" He asked cautiously. "What did your father make you?"_

 _She laughed humourlessly. "That's_ way _too long of a story," she replied bitterly._

 _Eren paused, while slowly Annie started to pace around him in a wide circle. "I'm not a strong person," she admitted finally, glancing at him with just a twinge of regret. "Maybe a strong person could have come forward and done the right thing, but I'm weak. I've always been weak."_

" _It's not too late," Eren said determinedly. "Let's stop the fight now. You could cooperate! You can make amends. If you help us–"_

 _Anne snorted, smiling genuinely as she glanced at Eren. "It must be_ so _good…" she said slowly, staring at Eren with strange fascination. "…It must be so good to be able to say such outrageous things so easily."_

 _Eren shook his head. "It doesn't have to be like this," he argued._

" _Maybe it doesn't," Annie said slowly, taking a step towards him. "… but it_ is _, and there's nothing we can do about it now."_

" _That's wrong," Eren said firmly, eyes narrowing. "There's always something we can do."_

" _You keep on believing that," Annie said softly, patting him reassuringly on the shoulder. Eren froze, glancing at her hand in surprise. He had never known her to initiate physical contact before. Annie hesitated, but kept her hand on his shoulder. "…But it won't be long now," Annie said after a pause. "This place will disappear shortly."_

 _Eren frowned. "What?"_

 _She snorted. "You're in my_ head _, moron," Annie explained, motioning around at the training grounds. She paused in thought. "…it's either that or I'm in your head." She shrugged. "It's hard to tell the difference when we're both thinking the same thing."_

 _Eren froze, glancing around at the training ground. It looked like a scene straight out of his memory. He turned to stare at Annie, who was standing closer than she ever had before. "This is impossible," Eren muttered slowly, mind reeling at the statement. "…I'm going insane."_

 _"Huh," Annie said dismissively, slowly inching closer. Eren was frozen solid. Annie shrugged slightly, all the while leaning in closer and closer. "…sanity is overrated…"_

 _That was the last thing Eren remembered before Annie lifted her hand and punched Eren firmly in the jaw…_

* * *

… the blow from the Female Titan send the Rogue Titan flying backwards. Eren was suddenly fully conscious, blinking repeatedly as he stared around the burning wreckage, but in complete control of his Titan's body. It was hard to focus as reality seemed to change instantly.

The Female Titan was panting heavily as well. She looked just as stunned. There was a pause in the battle as they tried to recover themselves. Her head was still healing from where his hands had been crushing her. Eren stared at her, struggling to process what had just happened.

For an instant, everything froze. Eren tried to speak, but in his Titan form the only thing that came out were gasping, guttural noises. Eren could have sworn that the Female Titan seemed to gulp, staring at him incredulously, before standing up and running away.

The moment shattered. At once, the Female Titan was sprinting towards the wall and suddenly there were dozens of soldiers shooting through the air and chasing after her. Eren barely had a second to recover before his legs moved automatically, and the he was running too.

 _Annie!_ Eren screamed mentally, as if she could somehow hear him. _What just happened there? What was that? Annie!_

The wall was getting closer. Annie had to slow down, but Eren didn't. His mind was still reeling in confusion, and his head was pounding and it was hard to concentrate. Suddenly, Eren tackling her from behind, and they both crashed down to the ground in a shockwave of flailing limbs, all the while his heart pounded furiously.

As soon as they collided, the air seemed to spark.

* * *

… _The world changed, but it wasn't like the last time. It was messy, disorganised and overwhelming. Eren only barely managed to process fleeting images as a whole tidal wave of sensations and emotions rushed by…_

… _Eren glimpsed a little girl training with an older man, punching and kicking with despite the sweat pouring from her brow and laboured breathing…_

… _there was a ruined farmhouse, with the walls and ceiling shattered by giant footsteps…_

… _a crying man, his face covered by shadow, begging her to keep on going even if the world despised her for it…_

… _and then there was an image of Levi, ripping an unconscious figure from her mouth and zipping away, all the while all hopelessness and desperation crashed down on to her…_

 _Eren didn't know how to react. It was too much, he just couldn't handle it. Eren screamed, while around him the wave of memories and feelings writhed around him. Eren lashed out and fought, feeling his mind spinning as every spiralled out of control in the maelstrom of emotion…_

… _And then, everything suddenly went black._

* * *

When Eren awoke, he could barely focus on everything, even as he felt strong arms yank him out of the steaming body of the Titan. His arms and legs were fused into the Titan's flesh, but Eren didn't even feel it as sharp blades sawed his limbs off and the Survey Corps soldiers dragged him out. Eren's mind was spinning so madly that he was barely conscious, and there were dark lines draping down from his eyes and running down his cheeks.

There were people shouting everywhere and destruction reigned across the ground. It was so chaotic he could barely make sense of everything that was happening, but there was one thing that he managed to focus on. Eren was left staring at a wild and frantic Annie as she was torn out of her Titan, her eyes crazed with a fear that looked so out of place on her face.

For a moment, just before Eren finally blacked out, their eyes met each other's. As Eren dropped into unconsciousness, he had a weird hallucination that Annie was crying.

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

 **First chapter of my newest story, thanks for reading. Any feedback is always much appreciated!**

 **I'll be uploading the second chapter tomorrow, where the different end to the Stohess District fight will start to have an impact...**


	2. So Long and Thanks for the Memories

**Losing Control**

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 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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 **Chapter 2:**

 **So Long and Thanks for the Memories**

* * *

Eren spiralled back into conscious slowly, and painfully. Even before he managed to open his eyes, he slowly became aware of his body. His heartbeat felt like sledgehammer in his chest, his breathing was so shallow, and he was aware of his blood grinding through his veins. His arms and legs were tingling painfully as they regenerated. For a while Eren lay perfectly still, feeling the tingling creep outwards to his extremities; starting at his wrists and ankles, before moving slowly towards his toes and fingers.

He wasn't sure the exact moment that he went from unconscious to conscious, but it seemed that eventually his eyes just opened and he was left staring blankly at a grey stone ceiling. It was a while longer before finally started to shift, twisting his head to look at his surroundings. He was in an old, chilly stone room, lying in a hard mattress wrapped around in a thick, scratchy blanket. And he was naked.

Curiously, Eren lifted his hand upward. The new limb looked identical to the old one, except his fingernails were missing and had yet to regrow. Eren turned his hand in inspection, wincing painfully with the movement. Newly regrown muscles were still so tender.

There was a stir next to him. Eren glimpsed around to see a sleeping figure snoozing in an armchair next to his bed. Mikasa's delicate nose crinkled slightly as she snored softly, curled up tightly in her red scarf. It had always amazed Eren slightly how someone as fine-featured and slender as Mikasa could also be so utterly frightening in battle.

Eren felt so weak and exhausted. He wondered briefly how long he had been asleep, and how long Mikasa had been by his bedside. For a moment, he didn't want to wake Mikasa, but then his mind started to focus and he realised there were things he needed to know.

"Mikasa," Eren hissed softly. "Mikasa!"

Her eyes flickered and she woke quickly. "Eren!" She exclaimed, stifling a yawn. "You're up."

"Yeah." He nodded dumbly. "How long was I out?"

"Two days," Mikasa explained with a grimace. "Things got a little hectic after the fight. The Military Police demanded that we surrender you and Annie into their custody. Erwin refused, and we had to flee the Stohess District."

Eren frowned. "You mean the Survey Corps actually rebelled against the Military?"

"Possibly," Mikasa admitted. "That's still being debated. Erwin argued that Annie had infiltrated the Military Police, there could be other spies, and it wasn't safe to hand her over. It got political. Nobody is quite sure if we've actually been branded traitors, but… well… anyways, we're hiding out in an old castle in Wall Rose, and no one knows where we are."

Eren paused, his head sinking into the pillows. "Right," he muttered finally. He paused, before struggling to sit up. "I've got to get up."

"No!" Mikasa said firmly, pushing him back down. Eren winced. "You just rest. I'll tell Armin you're up and get you some food, but you just need to recover."

Eren struggled. "I need to do someth–"

"No, Eren!" Mikasa snapped, her eyes bright with worry. Her hands clenched. "You need to rest. Please."

He bit his lip for a moment, and then slouched back down. He paused briefly as he stared out of the window, out over a large forest and hills. He didn't recognise the area.

"Mikasa…" Eren asked slowly, mind whirring. "…Where's Annie?"

She hesitated for brief second. "She's here," Mikasa said finally. "In the bottom dungeon, surrounded by steel nets."

Eren wondered briefly how he could possibly verbalise the stream of thoughts flowing through his head. "What's happening to her?" He said simply.

Mikasa's face was emotionless. "She's being interrogated," she replied. "She's Captain Levi's problem now."

* * *

Captain Levi polished his scalpel slowly, even though the blade was already sparkling clean. He sat completely still and impassive, and only someone who knew him really well would be able to tell how troubled he was. Perhaps for the first time in history, humanity finally had a captive who could spread some light on the mystery surrounding the Titans. If Annie was willing to go to such lengths for her cause, it was fully expected that she would have to be interrogated to find answers.

In this case, 'interrogation' was a polite word for 'tortured', and that was where Levi had a problem. The more he thought about what was expected of him, the more troubling the situation became.

Not that he had any moral qualms about torturing somebody, of course, but rather Levi had a problem with torturing someboddy _badly_.

The concept was simple enough; the interrogator inflicts pain and asks questions, and then the interrogatee tries to stop the pain by answering questions. Inexperienced interrogators often thought that that was simple, and the trick was just to inflict more pain to get them to talk more. That train of thought led to a whole series of poorly executed torture sessions, and also to dozens of commanders with mistaken misconceptions about the effectiveness of torture.

Levi was not inexperienced, though. There was a power dynamic involved with torturing someone, and it wasn't always in the interrogator's favour.

The big problem was that he had absolutely no means of verifying anything that Annie had said. She might spin a story about Titans being created by magical pixie dust, and Levi would have no way of saying definitely whether that was true or not.

Contrary to popular belief, people didn't become more honest when they were being tortured, they became more _desperate_. Torture victims would find a story that their interrogator wanted to hear and they would stick to it, which throughout history had led to commanders having their own misguided conceptions verified in the worst possible way.

Even worse was that, when interrogation was done badly, the captive could quite easily learn more than the interrogator. For example, if Levi asked 'Where do Titans come from?', then the only one who would actually learn anything for certain would be Annie, who'd learn that Levi didn't know where the Titans came from. Torture was essentially a game played for information, but there was a very real possibility that by asking questions then the interrogatee could learn more about the interrogator than the interrogator learned about them.

Levi knew that it had to be done, but the situation still sucked. There was a lot depending on the information extracted from Annie, and yet she held all the cards. Unreliable information was worse than no information at all, but Levi had to somehow find a way of getting accurate information despite walking into the prison cell at a complete disadvantage.

 _Well, not a complete disadvantage_ , Levi conceded. He still had his scalpel, of course; that was kind of the whole point.

With a sigh, Levi finally decided on a game plan, slipped the scalpel into his pocket, and walked slowly towards the prison cell. Annie was being kept in a hastily but strongly steel reinforced dungeon, decided specifically to render the Titan form useless. She was guarded by five men at all times, and she was kept chained securely to the wall, standing upright.

Even if she did try to transform, her Titan form would be shredded and contained by the steel wires surrounding her and she'd never be able to create a working body. At worst, the small prison cell could be filled with incomplete Titan flesh, but she'd still be immobilised and at which point the guards cut through and disable her. At least that was the completely theoretical plan.

Of course, anyone who was actually inside the room with her when she tried to transform would be in huge peril, which was another reason why Levi was so troubled by the whole situation. _This really is the worst possible circumstances for torture that I could possibly have imagined_ , Levi thought grimly. She had too much power and he never had enough.

Still, he had a job to do. He pushed open the heavy metal door slowly, and walked in.

He glanced only briefly at Annie, his face completely impassive. When it came to torture, emotions were for amateurs. Levi took absolutely no pleasure in his work, but there was no hatred or disdain there either. He was just a professional, this was a job, and she was a slab of meat.

Annie was chained tightly to the wall by the wrists and ankles. Her blonde hair was dirty and dishevelled, and her skin was pale. She had been stripped out of her clothes, and was left completely naked and dirty. It was a humiliating and indecent, but that was the whole point. Naked prisoners couldn't hide any weapons, and the torture was mental as a well as physical.

Her body was slender but very well-toned. Pale thighs, narrow waist, flat stomach, small breasts, Levi ran his eyes over her completely dispassionately. Annie glared at him, shoulders slouched, mouth tightened and her eyes were dark, but Levi could see the fear in there too. Neither of them said a word.

Attitude was everything. Levi wasted no time with greetings, or gloating, or even formalities. Anything he had to say was meaningless; he had no real information on her, nothing to use to play her, and no known vulnerabilities for mind games. She was the one who had to talk, not him.

There was a pause. The air was tense, despite Levi's uncaring, almost casual demeanour. Very, very slowly, because anticipation was half the pain, Levi took out his scalpel.

"Tell me what I want to know."

That was all Levi said. That was all he was planning on saying. There were no questions, just that simple statement. Annie met Levi's eyes, and there was absolutely no doubt in there. They stared at each other for a while, and then, slowly, Levi lifted the scalpel upwards.

Annie's eyes widened in shock and fear. "No, no, please don't!" She shouted loudly, her body thrashing as the blade crept closer. "… Please… don't – ARGH! No, _stop_ –!"

Levi went for the right shoulder first, slowly digging the blade right beneath the shoulder blade, through soft skin and straight for the nerve. Annie screaming furiously, but Levi was already blocking out any noise that wasn't important. Torturers learnt quickly how to deaden themselves.

There was a trick to inflicting pain. Everybody had their own limit. The problem was, if you were too overzealous, then the victim would just shut down. It was quite possible for someone to suffer so much pain that they stop feeling anymore. In other case, pain could kill them, or drop them into a coma, or even render them a useless wreck. It was another difficulty of torturing; you had to learn to recognise their limits, and work around each individual interrogatee, and every point you had to ensure that they were always capable of communicating.

Firstly, Levi started off with scratches, precise scalpel wounds to the soft skin and sensitive nerves. It would hurt a lot, but that pain would mostly just be a primer. After that, he'd probably pull off her fingernails – that was an old favourite but still effective.

Next, if there was still no cooperation, he would go for the mutilation, and that was typically the point where most people broke. A lot of people could take pain, and they could even accept scars, but the concept of being horribly and permanently disfigured would crack them. Pulling out teeth, gruesome scars across their faces, severed fingers; things that would mark them for life. The trick was to start off small and work upwards, methodical, slow and consistent. At every point the victim had to completely and utterly believe that you would fulfil your promises.

If none of that worked then, well, at that point Levi would have to get creative.

That was all he thought about as he slowly sunk the scalpel into Annie's shoulder. Patience and apathy were both key in a good torture session. She was screaming wordlessly now, struggling to breathe through the pain.

 _Of course_ , Levi thought with a grimace; _Annie is a Titan shifter, so she can actually regenerate any injury. If it wasn't permanent, then mutilation just doesn't have the same impact. Perhaps I will need to get creative in this case_.

However, if he ever reached the point where she would rather die than endure anymore, then he had obviously gone too far. A person with nothing to live for had no reason to talk. It was a fine line that he had to walk.

He slowly pulled the blade out. The blood was already streaming from the wound, flowing down her breasts and her stomach and dripping onto the ground. Levi paused to bandage up the injury quickly – if she fell unconscious from blood loss, then that didn't help anybody.

"Why are you doing this?" Annie demanded, her voice croaking with pain and worry. Her eyes were wide and fearful. Levi paused to analyse her expression for a moment, and then continued. "Why are you doing this? _What are you doing to me?!_ "

Levi targeted the groove of the elbow this time, digging in the scalpel until she couldn't scream any longer. "Tell me what I want to know," Levi repeated slowly, taking out another bandage.

"What?" Annie croaked. Levi didn't visibly react. "What do you want?"

She thrashed the chains furiously. " _What do you want from me?!_ "

There was just the faintest flicker of a frown on Levi's face. This time, he went for the soft skin right above the eyeball, digging the sharp edge straight into the nerve. The pain was so intense that she couldn't even scream; she just gasped for breath as her body twitched.

She was crying furiously, the tears mixing with the blood. "Who are you?" Annie choked hoarsely, voice cracking with fear. " _What is this place?! Why are you doing this to me?!_ "

 _She is a spy_ , Levi told himself; _she had lied for a living_. He would treat her like a professional too. Levi knew the type of things people could come up with during torture and he wouldn't let himself be swayed by anything. He kept his face completely and utterly expressionless.

"Tell me…" Levi said carefully, raising his scalpel towards her face. "… What I want to know."

Annie writhed and screamed. "I don't know!" She begging through weeping breaths. "I don't know…!" She gasped as the blade was inches away from her eye. "… _I don't know_ …!"

It was a long, long interrogation session.

By the time Levi emerged from the prison cell, he was greeted by five horrified stares from the guards. Levi was too distracted to notice. He walked out of the prison and went straight for the sink, slowly cleaning his bloody hands and scalpel as he thought furiously over what just happened.

* * *

Erwin arrived back at the castle late that night, and the commander was eager to be told about everything that happened during Annie's interrogation. It was midnight by the time he was set up in his office, but that didn't matter. An urgent meeting was called, with the Survey Corps' top members. Levi was called to present, along with Mike Zacharius and Hange Zoe.

At Erwin's insistence, and because they also had the most experience with Annie Leonhard, some members of the 104th Trainee Squad were also called: Eren, obviously, along with Mikasa, Armin and Jean; the ones that had been a part of plan the capture of Annie in the first place.

Eren was left the only one in casual clothes, straight out of his recovery bed, while the others were wearing their uniforms. The office was completely bare with nothing but an empty desk and chairs. They were all impatiently waiting and tense, but Eren was so bad that he was twitching in anticipation and vague dread. Levi, of course, was late, having stopped to change his clothes before coming up.

"What sort of interrogation methods did the captain use?" Eren demanded finally, to the quiet room. Nobody answered straight away. Armin avoided his gaze firmly.

"Whatever methods he deemed appropriate," Erwin replied simply.

Eren's fists clenched but he didn't reply. About five minutes later, Levi walked through the door, nodded respectfully to Erwin, and took a seat.

"Well, we can begin," Erwin said quietly. At night, the room, lit only by flickering candles, felt so quiet that he didn't need to raise his voice. "I have been busy appealing to our supporters in government. Many can accept the necessity of our actions, but after the destruction of Stohess District, the Military Police are leading the charge and demanding that Annie Leonhart – and you, Eren – be forcefully taken into their custody. There is also the call that I step down as commander of the Survey Corps after my part in organising the destruction." He paused, and glanced towards Levi as he held his hands together. "Before we can decide the next move, we need to discuss the interrogation of the prisoner. Her intelligence about our enemy could well change the tide of this battle."

There was the faintest hint of a question in that last statement. All eyes turned to Levi, who paused. "I did not manage to extract any useful intelligence, commander," Levi said finally. "The interrogation was unsuccessful."

Erwin's eyes were firm. Eren glared at him. "And why not?"

"Annie claimed to be completely unaware of anything, despite my best efforts," Levi said simply, with a flicker in his eyes. "When pushed, she said that she was not aware of any conspiracy, or enemy within the walls."

No one reacted. Levi paused for half a second, and then continued. "When pushed further, she claimed that she did not know what the Titans were, that she was unaware that she was Titan Shifter, and the she never attempted to kidnap Eren. Indeed, she was unaware who Eren was." Levi glanced towards Eren briefly. "As a matter of fact, she claimed that couldn't even remember her own name."

The statement was met by stunned silence as his words were slowly processed. Armin looked speechless. "What?" The short blonde said in a surprised voice. "You mean that Annie is claiming _memory loss_?"

"Amnesia?" Jean exclaimed loudly, looking at Levi incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding me? _She's saying that she's got amnesia?!_ "

Slowly, Levi looked at Jean and raised an eyebrow quietly. The tall rookie gulped, and then silently sat back down respectfully. Levi turned to Erwin, quietly thinking to himself.

"So Annie is clearly faking memory loss to avoid giving us information," Erwin said finally. "It is a fairly common and usually ineffective torture avoidance technique. Why exactly did this prove an obstacle during your interrogation?"

Eren's hands clenched so tightly they hurt while he stared firmly at the floor. Levi met Erwin's gaze impassively. "Because I believe her," Levi admitted. "I believe that she seriously does not remember even remember her own identity."

Jean nearly gagged. Armin looked amazed. Erwin just kept his elbows on the desk, hands held together. "Explain," Erwin ordered.

"I was with her for twelve hours today," Levi explained. "I've seen people use the amnesia excuse before, but this wasn't like those times. I didn't hold back on my methods at all throughout the interrogation, but by the end I was convinced that she was telling the truth. It was the little things, you see. She didn't admit to not knowing, she couldn't. When she reached the point she was willing to lie desperately to satisfy me, the lies that she told were clearly ridiculous, because she didn't know, well, _anything_ , but she still stuck to them to the point of pain. Even if she was that good of an actor; it was things like how she mispronounced the names of places, because she couldn't remember hearing them before. At one point, she was actually surprised when her body started to regenerate."

 _Regenerate_. Eren had to grit his teeth as he heard that word, just imagining the things that Levi had done to Annie. He knew that Annie was enemy and he knew that torture was probable, but the thought still made him sick. And then there was Levi's tone as he explained; it was the same lazy drawl as if he was explaining what happened in a mildly interesting book he read. It took everything Eren had not to explode in outrage.

"But the main reason I believe her is because Annie is not stupid," Levi continued. "She never _acted_ stupid during her interrogation; she acted like she just didn't know anything. There is a difference. Moreover, I cannot think of any reason why she would put on this act if it wasn't genuine. She must know that there is a huge amount of evidence against her and that her guilt is undeniable, and she must also know that we would never let her go even if she did have amnesia. From her point of view, _faking_ amnesia is a stupid decision which would never benefit her, and I don't believe that she is stupid." Levi stared at Erwin firmly. "So yes, in conclusion, I do believe that something happened to her during her capture that made her lose her memories."

Erwin's hands tightened slightly. The room was tense. Everyone looked confused. Eren gulped slightly, still staring at the floor as he felt his mind go wild. That moment during his fight with Annie was still crystal clear. He hadn't told anyone about it, because how could he explain it? Still…

"How much does Annie claim not to remember?" Erwin demanded finally, looking towards Hange and Mike for their opinions. Mike sniffed the air curiously.

"As far as I can tell, everything," Levi explained. "She has no recollection of her childhood or off her training, or the people she knew. The curious thing is that she retains many of her skills. She could recognise and use 3DMG, even though she had no idea about what Titans were. Again, she seemed very confused as she herself recognised the holes in her memory. It was the little bits of imperfections that made her story realistic."

"That could be faked, if she's that clever," Erwin argued.

"True," Levi admitted. "But I can't see the point in it for her."

"Perhaps in order to make us have this conversation now," Armin noted.

"Also true," Levi said simply. "I'm well aware of that too."

Erwin glanced towards Hange, who shook her head. "I don't think it's likely," she admitted, adjusting her glasses. "I've seen head injuries and I've seen amnesia before. Amnesia just doesn't work like that. Is she capable of taking on new information?"

"Yes." Levi nodded. "She learnt quite fast, actually."

"In real amnesia, I would expect head injury, or a lack of self-awareness, or a defective short-term memory," Hange explained. "Ignoring the fact that Annie never actually had a head injury when we brought her in, I don't recall seeing any signs during my inspection. It _can't_ be amnesia."

The room nodded. All eyes except Eren's were staring at Levi doubtfully. "So she's faking?" Jean said finally. "Annie's just managed to dupe you too? She's a liar and she's faking it to try and weasel her way–"

Eren grimaced. He had to say something. There was just the moment during the battle… "She's not faking it," Eren said suddenly, catching them all off guard. "Annie really can't remember anything."

At ones, everyone stared at him. Eren twitched hesitantly. His pulse was racing. "How do you know?" Erwin demanded coolly.

"Because… Because…" Eren gulped, trying to find the right way to say it. Every way he imagined just seemed so wrong. Eren met Levi's eyes, and there was a vague knowing in there. Levi was the only one who didn't look even remotely surprised by Eren's statement. "…Because… when I was fighting Annie, well, I think I might have…"

He was twitching slightly. Eren still remembered that moment sharply. He had touched Annie, the air had seemed to spark, and then suddenly there had been so many… memories overwhelming him. Eren never knew what had happened; it had just been a feeling, and was had to verbalise a feeling. "… I think might have erased Annie's memories…" Eren admitted finally, wincing slightly.

The statement was met by shock silence. Eren kept on staring guilty at the fall. Jean was the first to react. "You _what?!_ " Jean exclaimed loudly, staring at Eren with his mouth open.

"I didn't know what I was doing!" Eren protested. "It was an accident!"

Jean's eyes bulged. "Oh, it was accident. It's alright everyone, it was an _accident_ ," he said sarcastically, motioning his arms around madly. "It was a bloody _accident_? How did you – What did, you just trip or something and – whoops – sorry Annie, were those your memories? You weren't using those, were you? _My bad_."

"Jean," Mikasa said warningly, but she was staring at Eren in shock herself.

"No!" Jean shouted, glancing at the room. They were all frozen silent. "How come nobody else is freaking out about this? _I'm_ freaking out about this! I mean, this guy destroyed her _memories_. Destroyed. Her. Memories. _What the flaming hell?!_ "

"Eren," Erwin said firmly. There was flicker in his eyes; it wasn't just shock, there was something else as well. "Eren, how did you do that?"

"I don't know," Eren confessed. "I mean, I was losing control the Titan, I was angry, I was thinking about Annie, and it all just… _happened_ …"

"Can you describe it?" Erwin insisted.

"It was like… it was like a _feeling_ more than anything…" Eren stammered. "Have you ever just did something instinctively that you can't explain? I can't even think of the words, there was just this sensation, and it happened, and I was just so confused, but all hit me and so these images and… and memories and it… it…"

"It's alright," Mikasa soothed suddenly, taking Eren's hand. "Slow down."

Eren took a deep breath. "… and I _felt_ everything disappear. I was like I was in Annie's head and I felt it go black. I don't know what happened, it was just too overwhelming I couldn't focus or make sense of it," he said softly. "I wasn't even sure if it had actually happened at all until Levi said…"

His voice trailed off. Nobody knew what to say. Eyes flicked between Erwin and Eren. "Can you undo it?" Erwin asked finally, scratching his chin.

"I don't know."

"Can you do it again?" There was just a hint of something in his voice.

Eren shook his head. "I don't know."

" _Indeed_ ," Erwin muttered, placing his hands on the table.

Hange stared at Eren in a mixture of shock and wonder. "Does this mean that Titans have some sort of memory manipulation ability?" She muttered, deep in thought. "But how come we've never… unless…"

"Annie was supposed to be the first good lead we've ever had," Armin muttered slowly. He looked visibly uncomfortable, glancing towards Eren through the corner of his eye. "She's the only one who can point us at the real enemy here…"

Erwin nodded slowly. "You're right. Lack of information is our greatest disadvantage," he muttered. His eyes were blank as he thought thoroughly. "It is time we remedy that situation."

The commander paused. "Eren, I would like you to work with Hange for now," Erwin said finally. "And I would like you both to investigate this memory ability of yours."

Hange grinned excitedly with the thought, nodding her head eagerly. Mike frowned. "So you believe that Eren erased Annie's memories now?"

"I'm accepting it as a working theory," Erwin replied coolly. "But neither have I dismissed the possibility that Annie Leonhard is simply faking, nor do expect anybody else to dismiss that possibility as well."

Levi nodded. "Very well."

"But nevertheless, she is valuable information source that we cannot afford to neglect," Erwin continued, his voice firm. "So from now on, I also want Eren to assist Captain Levi during the interrogation of Annie."

Eren's eyes widened in surprised. " _What?_ "

"There are two possibilities; either Annie is trying to manipulating us, or she is not," Erwin explained. "If she is faking her memory loss, then we will use Eren to get close to her, and she will then try to manipulate Eren in order to escape. She risked much to capture him for her cause the first time, and I don't believe that has changed. She will be forced to attempt to convert Eren to her side, which would require sharing information. We can use that to our advantage.

"Alternatively, if Annie really has had her memories erased, then Eren should still approach her in order to both investigate what he did to her, and to see whether it can be undone." Erwin looked firmly at Eren. "Either way, it seems beneficial for Eren to assist in the interrogation, using… _friendlier_ methods. Levi will oversee the interrogation, and for now work on the presumption that Annie really has lost her memory."

Eren tried to say something, but his throat choked. The thought of seeing Annie again was vaguely terrifying. Instead, he just forced a nod. Levi's eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything.

"I believe that that is enough for tonight," Erwin said finally. "It is late yet it will doubtlessly be a busy day tomorrow. However, please keep everything mentioned tonight quiet; until we have verified the situation, consider everything said in this room to be top secret."

Mikasa and Armin nodded. Jean still looked upset, but he muttered an agreement. The room felt heavy and quiet as, one by one, they stood up and left. Hange looked ready to assault Eren straight away for her research, but then Mike placed his hand on her shoulder and she relented. Eren felt absolutely shattered as he walked away. The thought of interrogating Annie tomorrow caused his heart to race in a way that promised he wouldn't be able sleep.

Levi was the only one who didn't leave the room. By unspoken agreement, Levi stayed sitting patiently in the commander's office while everyone else left. Mike shut the door behind them, leaving Levi and Erwin alone in the room.

"So…" Levi said finally. "… You never seem surprised when Eren mentioned that he erased her memories."

Erwin smiled softly. "Was that a question?"

Levi stared at him impassively. "You _knew_ about that power of Eren's, didn't you?"

"Heh," Erwin said with a sigh, relaxing very slightly in his chair. He had sat so upright during the meeting. "Did you know that my father was a history teacher? He was a quite brilliant one too, though that was wasted in a classroom teaching a censored syllabus. One day, I asked a question he could not answer, and he took to one side and he explained that the official textbooks from the government contained many contradictions. As far as anyone can tell, life as we know it changed drastically 107 years ago, and all knowledge of the outside world has been systematically erased from existence."

Levi sat quietly, listening intently. "Of course, any books and records could be destroyed. There has undoubtedly been a huge effort from the government to track down any references and those with knowledge of them," Erwin explained, his eyes glistening over. "But that is easiest thing to explain. As far as history is concerned, 107 years is not very long at all. My grandfather could have quite easily been alive back then, but nevertheless there is absolutely no knowledge anywhere of what that era was like. Now, destroying books is one thing, but how could you completely stop an entire population from passing stories down to their children? The only way to do that would be to destroy what is in people's heads."

Levi paused. "You believe that the government has a method of wiping people's memories?" He said finally.

" _Had_ a method, at the very least," Erwin said with a nod. "It was a theory that my father developed. He later died for that theory. Just a theory, and before tonight I have never had any real proof of it."

"But Eren seems to have the same power," Levi noted. "At the very least it proves a connection between the Titan Shifters and the monarchy."

"Exactly. I don't know what, but we will need to tread carefully now. In any case, I feel it is urgent that Eren learns whether or not he can reverse or control this ability as soon as possible."

"Why?"

Erwin's gaze darkened. "Because how _certain_ are you that you've never had your memories wiped?" Erwin asked carefully, motioning to the notepad he kept in his pocket. "I record my every action and every decision, but still I am never _really_ certain."

Levi scoffed. "Hmph," he murmured, staring in to the wall. "That's an annoying idea…"

"Yes, very," Erwin agreed. "Which is we need some defence against it."

Levi inspected the commander curiously. "So, really this is a better opportunity than you could have hoped for?" Levi asked critically, his brow furrowing. "Are you even disappointed that we've lost the intelligence from Annie."

Erwin almost smirked. "Oh yes, I'm very disappointed," he said softly. "Without her information it is a huge hindrance. However I'm also an opportunist."

"Hmm…" Levi murmured. He paused for a second. "So do you want to tell me the rest of the plan now?"

There was definitely an amused smile playing at his lips. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that you're a cunning bastard, commander," Levi said bluntly. "And you've always got another plan in motion. What are you _really_ thinking by putting Eren next to Annie?"

Erwin leaned forward in his chair. "I'm thinking that a person is made up from their experiences and their memories," he said carefully. "After all, if it wasn't for my father, or, rather, for my memories of him, then I probably would never have joined the Survey Corps and I would never have become the man I am today. If someone were to take those memories away from me, I wouldn't be the same person either."

Levi's eyes narrowed. "The same applies to Ms Leonhard. If she has really lost her memories, then she has also lost all of her motivation for fighting, so is she really an enemy anymore?" Erwin continued. "What if Eren could befriend her? What if we could give her a new cause to fight for?"

Levi's hands clenched. Despite his stoicism, the memory of the bloody, mutilated corpses of Squad Levi flickered through his mind. "Are you _seriously_ suggesting…?"

"Yes," Erwin said with a small nod. "Imagine it… what if we could convert Annie Leonhard to our side?"

* * *

 **Author Notes**

 **Sorry it's a day late, it was a busy night for me yesterday. Last chapter was really just an introduction, but this one really gets the plot going.**

 **Also, just a quick note, I haven't forgotten about that, in canon, the Beast Titan should be trotting about turning villagers into Titans round about now. Maybe he's been delayed?**

 **Next chapter: " _Tabula Rasa_ "...**


End file.
